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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. file — a tool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. rule — government
  9. file — a document
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rule — a law
  12. row — a line
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. row — to paddle
  15. roll — a list
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com